Calls grow to deport migrants who attacked NYPD officers in Times Square
NEW YORK -- As the NYPD continues its search for six more suspects, pressure is mounting to deport the asylum seekers accused of attacking officers in Times Square.
The NYPD says of the dozen migrants involved in attack on Saturday, six are still wanted. Six were arrested, but only one is in jail; the rest were released.
"These individuals who assaulted New York City police officers have no regard for the law ... If we're not protected, how are we going to protect the people in the neighborhoods," Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry said.
Thursday, scores of Midtown South police officers were in the courtroom when a judge ordered 24-year-old Yohenry Brito held on $15,000 bail for second-degree assault and obstructing governmental administration. The Manhattan District Attorney says he's the man accused of starting the fight. Police say they identified him by the tattoo on his neck.
In court, he was wearing a shirt that said, "Work hard. Be kind."
"Today, the justice system worked, but we have to ask the question, why did these four individuals be released on their own recognizance?" Hendry said.
The men he's referring to are the migrants released Wednesday. One had two prior shoplifting arrests. The DA has said they were released because evidence was still being gathered to specify each person's role.
Thursday, Gov. Kathy Hochul reiterated calls to deport them.
"Get them all and send them back. You don't touch our police officers. You don't touch anybody," she said.
Four of them may have left the state.
A high-ranking police source tells CBS New York the men provided fake names to a church group that arrange for bus tickets as part of a migrant resettlement program. The NYPD doesn't have plans to immediately track the men down, as they aren't due back in court until Feb. 20 for a hearing. If they don't show, a bench warrant will be issued for their arrest.
"It's a crime where you have to weigh what is the likelihood of their return to court, which I think is getting thinner by the minute ... Generally, people who are going to return to court don't travel under false names towards the Mexican border after they've assaulted a police officer," said John Miller, former NYPD deputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism.
Police did arrest a seventh person, but the DA declined to charge him because there was not enough evidence and he was let go.
The police union says the officer who was attacked is "banged up," has a shoulder injury and faces a long road to recovery. We know the lieutenant suffered a laceration to his face.
If convicted, the suspects arrested so far face up to seven years in prison.
Lawmakers call for deportation
The Times Square attack on the cops has turned into a political donnybrook for both the governor and Mayor Eric Adams, not to mention Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and the courts, since several of those arrested were set free.
"It is absolutely disgusting that people who are in this country, that are being housed by the taxpayers, would turn around and disrespect our laws and our law enforcement, and I believe that the mayor has to work to deport these individuals," Staten Island Rep. Nicole Malliotakis said.
Watch Marcia Kramer's report
That tough talk came Thursday as more details emerged about the members of the group that have been arrested on charges of attacking NYPD officers as they were trying to disperse a crowd near a migrant shelter in Times Square on Saturday night.
At least two of the suspects were free on the street after prior shoplifting arrests, police said.
"It's unconscionable that individuals are here, they're committing crimes and that our city is protecting them from deportation," Malliotakis said.
In a video released by the NYPD, two cops are seen struggling with a man when a group of people take turns kicking and punching a lieutenant and another officer in the head and body.
Malliotakis claims one reason they haven't been deported is a law enacted while Bill de Blasio was mayor that prevents the NYPD and city officials from cooperating with federal immigration officials.
"[Adams] should be working to overturn Bill de Blasio's law that is protecting people who have been committing crimes from deportation," she said.
A spokesperson for Adams refused to go into the legal status of those charged in the attack, saying, "The men and women of the NYPD put their lives on the line every single day, working tirelessly to keep us and our streets safe. Violence -- of any kind, and no less against our officers -- is unacceptable and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
CBS New York put the question to Adams' chief of staff, Camille Joseph Varlack.
"I think that they should go through the criminal justice system, and, if convicted, yeah, I think they should be deported," Varlack said.
Hochul was asked if she felt those responsible should be deported.
"I think that's absolutely something that should be looked at. If someone commits a crime against a police officer in the state of New York and they're not, they're not here legally, it's definitely worth checking into," Hochul said.
Now Hochul has Albany Republicans on her back, demanding she use her executive powers to send National Guard troops to both the Texas and Canadian borders to stop the flow of illegal immigration. However, she said they would be much better served if they called on their Republican representatives in Washington to support border reform.